Georgeta Pitica, sadly missed (Photo: courtesy of Beatrice Romanescu) by Ian Marshall, Editor It is will great sadness that the Romanian Swaythling Club advises the death of Georgeta Pitica. Born in 1930, she passed away quietly on Saturday 13th October, she was 88 years old. The peak of her career was in the early 1960s, an era when the formula for the Women’s Team event was four singles and one doubles, two players per team but often a third being introduced for the doubles. At the 1961 World Championships in Beijing, partnering Maria Alexandru, Georgeta Pitica secured Women’s Team bronze prior clinching Women’s Doubles gold. Notably, in the Women’s Team competition they experienced a three-two defeat at the hands of China’s Sun Meiying, Chiu Chunghei
Month: October 2018
Judit Magos, member of a golden Hungarian era
A recent photograph of Judit Magos with her European Table Tennis Union's Hall of Fame plaque (Photo: Gabor Felegyi) by Ian Marshall, Editor A legend in her own lifetime, it is with great sadness that the Hungarian Table Tennis Association advises the passing of Judit Magos. Born in Budapest on Monday 19th February 1951, she died on Thursday 18th October; she was 67 years old. Rather different to the norm, Judit Magos was a right handed pen-hold grip player, in some ways similar to Zoja Rudnova, a player of a generation earlier who employed a similar style to great effect, when representing the country then known as the Soviet Union. It was in her home city of Budapest, when 13 years old that Judit Magos
Joe Veselsky, 100 years old, happy birthday!
Joe Veselsky (centre) with (left) Pat O'Brien and (right) Joe Hickey (Photo: Catherine Hickey) by Joe Hickey, Irish Table Tennis Association Josef Veselsky, now that’s too formal, he is Joe; he was born in the same month as the independence of the country known as Czechoslovakia was officially proclaimed. During his youth Joe developed great sporting ambitions and focused his energy towards table tennis; he achieved a top 10 national ranking. He became a banker, married Katarina, always Kathy, who was her husband’s greatest supporter throughout their 64 year marriage, until she passed away in 2009; they had two children, Peter and Kate. Memories of happy times but also Joe endured very sad times in his early years. In 1938, he was 20 years old